What type of heart sound should you expect to hear in a patient with mitral stenosis?

In the context of mitral stenosis, a diastolic murmur is what one would expect to hear during auscultation. This condition is characterized by the narrowing of the mitral valve, which impedes blood flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle during diastole (the heart's relaxation phase).

As the left atrium contracts to push blood through the narrowed valve, this turbulent flow generates an abnormally low-pitched sound, often described as a "rumbling" murmur, best heard over the apex of the heart, especially when the patient is in the left lateral decubitus position. This diastolic murmur occurs after the second heart sound (S2), as the mitral valve fails to open adequately to allow normal blood flow.

Understanding this context clarifies the nature of the sound produced by mitral stenosis. Systolic murmurs, midsystolic murmurs, and pansystolic murmurs are associated with other cardiac conditions, such as mitral regurgitation or aortic stenosis, where the mechanics of blood flow are different, hence why those options do not apply to mitral stenosis.